Farm and Garden.

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 413, 14 April 1904, Page 2

Farm and Garden.

ORIGINAL ARTICLES.

THE MEEITS OP DIFFERENT BREEDS OF POULTRY.

£/£s}s interesting record was recently ®n|ra made known concerning the SfflSig Partridge Cochin breed of fowls. A careful record was kept of nine pullets and one cock. They were hatched in the spring of the year; seven months afterwards they laid ninety-six eggs during the seventh month, and one hundred and sixteen in the ninth month, a total for the three months of four hundred and thirty-six eggs. They were supplied with fresh water, wheat grains, broken eggshells, grit, crushed oyster shells, bone dust, clover tods, and leaves ; in the morning a mash feed of half pollard and half bran with a small handful of cracked corn and three pounds of ground green bone were given each week, with the results described above. We may also mention two or three othsr varieties: The popular Bnfl Oipingtous, a new breed of English introduction, which are hardy prolific and have many good qualities, and said to be equal to Buff Plymouth Rocks, from which they differ in having flesh coloured legs, instead of coloured ones. The standard description of Buff Plymouth Rocks almost exactly corresponds with the Boff Orpingtons. The black Spanish are prolific layers of large white shelled eggs, they are black coloured fowls, with red combs and wattles and white faces, whioh give them a peculiar appearance. They have a white skin and blacks legs, which is objectionable in the dressed birds. The Houdans are a French breed, having five toes and a top-knot, the legs, are pinkish white, mottled or shaded with lead colour or black, which does not pre s ant a good appearance when dressed. The plumage is black and white intermixed indiscriminately. The top-knot. is objectionable on fowls, which are kept in large flocks, The Houdans are prolific layers of large eggs, ranking in that respect only s little' lower than Leghorns j they are practically non-Bitters. Javas are both black and mottled in colour; the plumage of the mottled Java's being black and white mixed; both varieties have dark legs and white legs. Tnoee who heep them say they are fully equal in utility purposes ,to Plymouth Rocks and Wjandots, but their colour is objectionable and for that reason they have never become popular. For the practical farmer there is no better or more profitable class of fowls than the Barred Plymouth Rocks. HOW TO GET HOGS WITH BETTER BONE. Formerly getting rid of coarse bones and refining the animal in all lines was very commendable, for hogs were then so rough that the greatest profit could not be secured. But that process has been carried so far with some breeds that the other extreme has been reached. Lick of bone and quality of bone are . often serious objections, as oftentimes many accidents occur arising therefrom. The tendency is now in the direction of securing animals with more bone, but at the same time retaining the other desirable qualities of the modern hog. Those kind hogs mated with the more refined animals produce a pig that grows rapidly, is a good feeder, is healthy, vigorous, and goes to market in the very best condition. The Chester White Boar is of the order spoken of; he has good length, width,, depth, and large bone without any coarseness.

On sows of this breed, or any other breed where fineness of bone is becoming too prominent, he 'will bring pigs of the desired market type. Where weakness of bone has to be contended with, the difficulty can be corrected by the careful selection of feeds, Some experiments were carried ont with feeding of wood ashes, which produced bone of double the strength fonnd in hogs given simply corn, water, and salt. Tb at illustrates the value of potash in building up bone. Give all the ashes that will be consumed, as well as soft coal broken into small pieces, rotten wood, slaked lime, old mortar, &g. When those ingredients are used and the animals given pure water and good feed, hogs usually gain from nine to sixteen pounds for ever? bushel of grain fed. Ten pounds is probably the most common gain per bushel, and farmers who secure Bach results will be making good returns on their investment.